22 Crew Missing After Panama-Flagged Bulk Carrier Sinks Off India Coast
India’s Coast Guard and Navy continued search-and-rescue operations off the eastern coast on Sunday after a Panama-flagged bulk carrier carrying 24 crew members sank. Two Chinese nationals have been rescued, while 22 seafarers remain missing, according to Indian officials.
The vessel was carrying iron ore bound for China after departing Paradip port on Friday. According to an initial report by India’s Maritime Administration, the ship developed a list before sinking in approximately eight minutes, leaving the crew with very little time to abandon the vessel.
Shyam Jagannathan, director general of India’s Maritime Administration, said the chances of finding survivors generally decline sharply after the first 12 hours, although rescue teams continued their search.
“All agencies are coordinating closely and actively doing search and rescue efforts,” Sarbananda Sonowal, India’s federal minister for the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, said in a social media post.
22 Crew Members Remain Missing
India’s Coast Guard said the missing crew comprise 18 Chinese nationals, three Myanmar nationals and one Bangladeshi national. The Indian Navy is coordinating with the Coast Guard as the search continues.
Two Coast Guard vessels from Sri Vijaya Puram, formerly known as Port Blair, the capital of India’s Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, were dispatched to support the operation.
Government sources said the vessel sank approximately 240 nautical miles from Paradip. The cause of the sinking remains unknown, and authorities have not yet established what caused the vessel to suddenly lose stability.
Sudden Listing Raises Maritime Safety Questions
The rapid sequence of events is expected to be an important focus of any investigation. The two rescued Chinese seafarers reportedly said the vessel developed a list and sank within about eight minutes, giving the crew extremely limited time to respond.
From a maritime safety perspective, a rapid loss of stability can severely restrict the time available for emergency response, particularly when a vessel is operating far offshore. However, there is currently no confirmed evidence indicating whether cargo movement, flooding, structural damage, machinery failure, weather conditions or another factor contributed to the sinking.
The vessel’s location, around 240 nautical miles from Paradip, also presents a major challenge for rescue teams. The offshore distance requires search crews to cover a potentially large area while working against time to locate the missing seafarers.
Search for Missing Seafarers Continues
The Indian Coast Guard and Navy remain engaged in the search for the 22 missing crew members. The immediate priority is to locate possible survivors while authorities work to determine the circumstances surrounding the bulk carrier’s sinking.
The incident highlights the importance of vessel stability, emergency preparedness and rapid maritime search-and-rescue coordination during offshore emergencies. The cause of the sinking remains under investigation as the search operation continues off India’s eastern coast.
